COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Aug. 14, 2010) – Heather Bown (Yorba Linda, Calif.) scored a match-high 15 points in leading the U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team to a 25-18, 25-21, 25-13 victory over host Thailand Saturday evening during Pool D action of the 18th FIVB World Grand Prix in Bangkok, Thailand.

Team USA, now 3-2 in this year’s World Grand Prix and in fifth place with nine points, concludes Pool D action versus NORCECA rival Puerto Rico on Aug. 15 at 1 a.m. Pacific Time. Next week the fourth-ranked Americans will conclude the preliminary round in Hong Kong with matches against Germany on Aug. 20, Thailand on Aug. 21 and China on Aug. 22. Thailand falls to 1-4 during the World Grand Prix and takes on Italy on Aug. 15 at 3:30 a.m. Pacific Time.

The U.S. totaled seven blocks in the opening set as it won 25-18. The Americans broke a 14-all tie in the second set with a 7-2 scoring spurt in easing into a 25-21 victory. Team USA opened the third set with a 9-2 advantage and never looked back in winning the finale 25-13.

Last year the U.S. lost in five sets to Thailand during the final FIVB World Grand Prix preliminary round match in Bangkok.

“The score cannot say anything, I think,” U.S. Women’s National Team Head Coach Hugh McCutcheon said. “Thailand is very strong and caused us a lot of problems. In the second set, we gained composure and played a good game against Thailand and their cheering fans. I think it’s a tough match. It’s hard to say if we can beat Puerto Rico tomorrow. We just want to play good one at a time and try to win each match we play.”

Bown totaled 15 points via 11 kills on 17 attacks, three blocks and an ace. Foluke Akinradewo (Plantation, Fla.) chipped in eight kills on 13 swings and a match-high four blocks for 12 points. Destinee Hooker (San Antonio, Texas), who led or tied for team high scorer honors in the first four World Grand Prix matches, contributed nine kills on 20 attacks and two blocks for 11 points. Logan Tom (Salt Lake City, Utah) charted seven kills on 14 attacks, two blocks and an ace for 10 points. Jordan Larson (Hooper, Neb.) contributed three kills and three blocks for six points, while Alisha Glass (Leland, Mich.) provided three blocks and two kills from her setter role.

Stacy Sykora (Burleson, Texas) recorded a U.S.-high nine digs, while Larson added six digs. Glass was credited with 49 running sets on 66 attempts. Larson also provided a team-leading 11 excellent service receptions on 23 attempts.

“Thailand is a great team,” Sykora said in the post-match press conference. “They are strong with quick combination. Our defense and blocking are our keys to success today. However, I think we have many things to improve. Thailand is one of the strong Asian teams. To play them is not easy. We did our best in taking on them. We always played them seriously. I think they have markedly improved their performance compared with last year when we took on them.”

McCutcheon started Tom and Larson at outside hitter, Akinradewo and Bown at middle blocker, Hooker at opposite and Glass at setter. Sykora was the designated libero for the match. Barboza was a serving sub in all four sets.

For the second match in a row, the U.S. dominated the net as it held a 17-2 block advantage over the host country. Team USA also held a 40-32 margin in kills and a slim 2-1 advantage in aces. The U.S. converted 44.4 percent of its attacks into kills with a .389 hitting efficiency. Meanwhile, Thailand converted just 29.9 percent of its attacks into points with a .215 hitting efficiency. The Americans held a 28-17 digs advantage and held a 50.0 percent excellent service reception mark.

For the latest news on the FIVB World Grand Prix, visit the U.S. Women’s National Team FIVB World Grand Prix event web site by clicking here. The page includes archived press releases, schedule and results involving all 12 World Grand Prix teams, photos, statistics and match videos by Universal Sports.

“I think everyone on my team did her best today,” said Apinyapong, Thailand’s captain. “However, the USA players are very tall. They played very well, especially their high blocking. We did a lot of mistakes on serving. We played disappointingly today. However, I hope we will come back with improved form against Italy in our last match here.”

“Congratulations to the USA,” Thailand Head Coach Kiattipong Radchatagriengkai said. “It was like what my team captain had said earlier. We did our best and we found it very difficult to score points. Actually, we played according to the game plan, but we served badly. Our blocking also did not live up to my expectation. However, spirit remains in our team. I hope we will come back stronger tomorrow and play our best game against Italy.”

Volleyball fans across the world will be able to watch three FIVB World Grand prix matches a week as FIVB TV announced on Aug. 5 that it will stream matches on the Internet. One match per day from the three preliminary rounds as well as all matches form the Final Round will be streamed live on http://www.laola1.tv/en/int/fivb/video/203---.html. The USA-Italy match was shown live as part of the package, while the USA-China contest on Aug. 22 rounds out the preliminary round coverage. As a note, the FIVB TV matches cannot be viewed in most locations within the United States based on negotiated broadcast rights.

Fans in the United States can watch all remaining USA matches on Universal Sports (www.universalsports.com), on a tape delayed same-day coverage. Selected matches will also be shown on Universal’s television channel. All matches will be on-demand after they take place. To find out if Universal is in your home area and its daily schedule, click here. To view video archived Team USA matches during the 2010 FIVB World Grand Prix, click here.

The U.S. scored the first two points of the opening set with a Glass block and Akinradewo kill, but Thailand quickly responded with three points to take a 3-2 advantage. The U.S. rattled off the next three points on a Tom kill, Akinradewo block and Hooker kill to take a 5-3 advantage. Thailand battled back with three unanswered points to assume a 6-5 margin. Hooker answered with three consecutive kills to push the U.S. back in front 8-6 at the first technical timeout. Glass put up a block and Thailand followed with an attack error to stretch the U.S. lead to 12-9. Team USA went into the second technical timeout up 16-12 after a Thailand service error and Larson block. Out of the break, Tom served an ace and Akinradewo took a quick set for a kill to extend the margin to six points at 18-12 prompting a Thailand timeout. The teams traded points as the Americans reached set points at 24-18 and Akinradewo put down a block for the winning point at 25-18. Akinradewo had a team-leading six points in the opening set and two of the team’s seven blocks. Hooker added five points in the set.

Team USA earned the first two points of the second set with kills from Bown and Tom. The U.S. extended its lead to 5-2 with a Hooker block after a Thailand service error. Tom slammed a back-row kill after a Thailand service error, then Larson connected for a cross-court winner to push the margin to five points, 8-3, at the first technical timeout. Thailand cut the gap to two points at 11-9 with three consecutive points including an ace, then moved to within one at 12-11. Thailand tied the set at 13-all as part of a 7-2 scoring spurt. Team USA answered with a Tom kill and Bown block yielding a 16-14 U.S. advantage at the second technical timeout. Team USA increased its margin to three points at 18-15 with a Bown kill and Glass block leading to a Thailand timeout. The Americans stretched its lead to 21-16 with three unanswered points with a Larson block followed by kills from Bown and Tom forcing another Thailand timeout. Thailand chipped away at the lead with two straight points to close to 21-18. Larson closed out the set with a kill at 25-21. Bown led the U.S. in the second set with seven points while the Americans picked up another five blocks. Tom added four points in the set.

Bown scored the first two points of the third set with a kill and ace to give the Americans a 2-0 lead. Glass and Tom connected for consecutive kills and Akinradewo put up a block to extend the margin to 5-1. Team USA continued its charge as Hooker slammed a kill after a Larson kill and Thailand error to send the Americans to an 8-2 advantage at the first technical timeout. Out of the break Hooker put up a stuff block to increase the margin to 9-2. The U.S. reached an eight-point advantage at 12-4 as Hooker served a winner after a Thailand error. Out of a timeout, Bown put up a block to extend the lead to 13-4. The American advantage reached double-digits at 15-5 as Bown and Hooker scored back-to-back kills, then Tom put up a block to give the U.S. a 16-5 lead at the second technical timeout. The U.S. went up 21-9 with an Akinradewo kill and Bown block. Thailand answered with three straight points to cut deficit to nine points at 21-12. Glass and Tom scored consecutive kills to yield match points at 24-13 and Hooker put an exclamation point on the match with a kill at 25-13. Bown was credited with five points in the third set to lead the U.S. while the American defense added five blocks.